Friday, 27 June 2014

Hi guys, so I didn't manage to write a weekly ramble last week, though I'm not surprised as I was among the Yorkshire Dales with little-to-no internet connection most of the time. It was like a miracle on the two occasions I actually got it!

'I'm connected to the universe'

...honestly take a whoooooooole week without even peeking on the internet, that is what you will feel like lol I won't make any dependency jokes here!

So seeing as I don't feel like I've got my sea-legs back home yet I guess this ramble with start with the art from that hol:

I didn't get as much art done as I'd have liked, art or art videos - art because there was more lazy things to be done (it was a holiday after all lol) and videos as I had a really tough time finding ANYWHERE in the Dales that I could record...

take 46 doesn't even describe it.

I'm not techy but I guess I'm going to have to give into figuring out how to get and use some better recording equipment if I ever want to record outside. Noisy does not even begin to cover it, every attempt I made failed, so I don't have as many videos as I hoped but fingers crossed I'll manage to make a couple:

Here's a sneaky peek snapshot of one that will happen....shhhh

And here's one last bit of craftiness from my hols:

Knitted garlands around the towns, Tour de France is coming to the Yorkshire Dales...and boy are they up for it!!Lovely decorations are everywhere

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Hello happy final tuesday of June (I say through VERY gritted teeth! Eek!) & therefore the final TAT for the first half of the year.

It's very inspiring, enjoy with summer beverage of your choice =)

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are

I am a 35 year old Sociologist and writer. Until 6 months ago I had not picked up a paintbrush in 20 years, historically I was never considered to be particularly good at Art, with the exception of 1 cartoon frog I drew in Year 7 at school. I have cerebral palsy and use a wheelchair, I am also dyslexic. Not a great combination for a writer! Recently I have begun to experience mental ill-health and it was this was brought Art into my life. I started attending a therapeutic Art group twice a week, and was bitten by the Art bug. I now enjoy Art Journalling particularly as I like the combination of pictures and words. I have never liked my handwriting before and now the additional Art element makes it attractive to me, an experience I have never had before. It is also a good way of exploring thoughts, feelings and fears which helps my mental health and my Sociological brain is satisfied as I can include social commentary in my Artwork.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?

My cerebral palsy causes a weakness in my fine motor control, this makes fine detail drawing incredibly taxing. This led to my gravitation to Art Journalling, and my style does not require me to draw perfectly e.g. I like to paint birds in foliage and my foliage is stylised and wavy.

Have you ever found anything that originally daunted you as an artist that you can now overcome easily?

My problems with depth perception created an additional barrier to overcome. It affected me as I have a negligible idea of scale or how far away anything is, this is due to the brain damage that occurred when I was born leading to my cerebral palsy. One of the members of my Art group showed me how to use carbon paper to help with this issue. Anything that involves scale or depth, I take a photo and then put the relevant landmarks in with the carbon paper, giving me more scope in what I can produce.

Do you ever lose your mojo, and if so, how do you get it back?Being ill I lost the ability to write, so I had whole days where I felt I had not achieved anything. I can produce Artwork even when I feel really ill, so I feel less of a failure. This positive effect on my mental health actually then allows me to write creatively. I think this is because I have to think more and use my whole brain to produce Artwork, it drives anything bad out of my brain freeing me to do what I love. This in turn has led me to love Art. I say to people, "If writing is my passion, Art is my joy."

Thank you so much for sharing your art and your bravery at sharing your story too with us Anika. I find so much inspiration in hearing stories of how art has positively changed peoples lives and I know I'm not the only one. I get a lot of emails from people all caught up with 'The Art', 'the art', 'the art' and 'I want to get this right or 'make that perfect' but to me it is stories like this & several others I have featured here on TAT as to what 'the art' is really about: 'the joy','the joy', 'the joy'

Tuesday, 17 June 2014

So I'm gonna post this quick as I've no idea how long my mobile bluetooth internet will hold up haha enjoy =)

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are. I am a very colorful HAPPY artist. The brighter the better for me. I have never been to art school...all I know I have figured out on my own or taking art classes from other online artists I admire. I have always been one to make things with my hands. In fact I find it difficult to sit and NOT be doing something with my hands. You name it I have tried it...ceramics, metal, quilting, scrap booking, drawing, painting, assemblage, jewelry making, doll making,....lol!!! Like I said...I have tried it all. I have settled down with making art quilts, painting, and journal making. These are my passions at the moment. Nothing makes me happier than filling up an art journal, making art journals, playing with fabrics and fibers, or making a huge mess with bright happy colors with my paints !!!

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it? I struggle with being good enough. I know we all say that....but it is a real issue for me. I have struggled with self worth for many years....as I am approaching 50 in a couple of years I have decided enough is enough!!! My art is good enough for ME. It makes me HAPPY :) ...and it is the icing on the cake if my art makes someone else happy! I make things that only feel good to make. I'm not good with commission work...I make what I love....and put it in my Etsy shop....if it sells (AWESOME) if not it is okay...I loved it, so it can be added to my home decor very easily...or giving as a gift. I think everyone has an artist buried deep inside them somewhere....and I get the greatest high when I can help someone find that artist:):) Putting my art out into the world is a must for me. If only to inspire others to try and make art:) :)

Have you ever found anything that originally daunted you as an artist that you can now overcame easily?FACES!!! yikes!!! I love to see all the artists who do faces....but I knew there was no way I could do that!!! Well, I decided screw that!!! I can and I will. So I took a large moleskin I had sitting around doing nothing. It is now my face journal. PRACTICE makes better...right!?! So, I put one foot in front of the other and just started!!! I love where my faces are right now!!! But, it took many hours of practice to get where I am. And it will take many more to get to where I want to be...but I WILL get there:)

What is the best thing / worst thing that art has brought into your life?Art is very HEALING. I have been through a mess of stuff in my short lifetime...and I am a stronger woman right now in this spot of time because of my art....I struggle with depression from time to time...and making a bright colorful mess is very good for my soul and well being ...having colorful art all around me is awesome. I always lean towards the bright....because, quite simply it always brings a smile to my face, and makes my soul warm and fuzzy....giggle....truly it does!!! To me its the BEST therapy on the planet:)

Thank you for sharing your art and story with us =) (ps that rug is *INCREDIBLE*) as I say I am posting this quick, so I know that it does post so no lil Jennibellie sum up here...because of the dodgy internet but also because I'm ready to go and have an extravagant afternoon English tea in a very English lil tea shop woohoo see you soon =)

Friday, 13 June 2014

Hi guys, so true to my words of my first Weekly Ramble blogpost last week I don't have a completed project to share, but what has been a very crazy couple weeks and a big-ass wall project!

If you are a member of my Monthly Challenge Group on Journal Workshops you may have seen in my vlog at the beginning of this month that I have been making art not for anything online related (which is why my presence has been a bit thin, and hence another reason why I'm loving the Weekly Ramble idea) but for a centre specialising in Dementia and Alzheimer care. If you are not a member of the Monthly Challenge Group you can join it here: http://journalworkshops.ning.com/group/monthly-challenge and catch up on the challenges entirely in your own time, there is vids in there as well as lots of shared art inspiration! And if you are not a member of my Journal Workshops community you can join it here: http://journalworkshops.ning.com/ completely for free, as is all resources currently on there =)

So I will do a 'proper' vlog of this once all walls are done but here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to:

Before I started - but still a lot of work to get the walls to this state!

I started with the fishies! 'Under the sea' before 'Over the Sea', You Sea?!

Here is a small snippet of a video I made for a friend to show how I was getting on:

I've done the sea, I've done the sea, Woohoooooooooooooo

So now I'm on the upper bits of the wall:

Sometimes I stick painted elements

Sometimes I paint painted elements

And the particular wall came together into this:

What do you think?

Still several walls to go...after I come back from a short lil hol I'm taking next week woohoo!

As I say I will make a lil vlog once all of the walls (on this particular section of wall anyhow! I've a feeling I'm being roped into doing more haha) are done.

So I'm out for this week and off to pack, I shall have internet where I'm staying (hopefully, cross your fingers!) so shall keep the blogposts coming =)

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

It feels agggggges since I've done a TAT, it's weird but I think that time feels so different online to offline, like they are not kept at the same pace or something lol anyhow it's back now yay! First one for June, enjoy xxx

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are.Hey all! What can I say about myself that is interesting? I am a mother of an 18 year old, 5 year old, and 4 year old. Why the huge gap between kids? Because I'm crazy!! And because life happens at a moments notice...at least, that's what it feels like to me :) What else happens "at a moments notice" for me? My art! With two energetic children bouncing around the house, I find that my art tends to be on the fly! I've dabbled in all kinds of media and methods, but when I discovered Art Journaling, I knew I had found my calling. I can blast a page with penned up creative energy and then walk away. Simple!

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?One of my biggest challenges I face as an artist is just that! Facing the fact that I am an artist! Up until this past year, I never would have considered myself an artist. I would have admitted to being fairly good at it but, knowing my work would never end up in a gallery, I wouldn't have considered myself an artist. That is until I decided to start taking art classes at the local community college. My teacher introduced me to the truth! If you express yourself in an artistic way and truly enjoy the process, art gallery or not, YOU are an artist!

What do you love most / least enjoyable about your art?What I love most about my art is that it's mine! Sometimes I am so WOWed by what I create! I will literally hunt down my husband, not only show off my latest creation but to also congratulate him on having a wife as talented as me :) Sometimes, you just have to pat yourself on the back! What I least enjoy about my art are the pages I really would like to bury. I don't know who said, "They can't all be winners", or something to that effect, but holy cow, it's true! As much as I am WOWed by some of my art, I am sometimes horrified by it! In the famous words of Steven Universe (an American cartoon character)..."If every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hotdogs!" So true! I learn something new with every ugly page I create!

Do you ever lose your mojo, and if so, how do you get it back?Oh, yes I do!!! Especially after a creative sprint! I chalk it up to simply being creatively spent. It's a little unsettling at first. Am I broken for good?! I don't have any one method I use to get my mojo back. Sometimes, I might work on something simple like beads (cutting the paper, punching out designs, gluing) or cutting out pics in a magazine. Other times, I find A LOT of relief from puzzle books. It's great exercise for your brain!

Hi Erin, thank you so much for sharing your lovely art and story with us =)

is everyone reading mentally storing "If every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hotdogs!" ???? HAHA that is not only classic, but such a useful thing for us to remember! Fabulous!

I also deal with my mojo disappearing after completing big projects and agree that it feels like it is because we may have creatively spent all our resources, and need to stand back and allow our well to be refilled....which can be very scary, and actually really uncomfortable, but we can probably all agree from experience that it does always comeback; so we have to trust in that process of being allowing when creativity flows, and being allowing when it doesn't - however hard that may be.

Friday, 6 June 2014

So I’m being called to write a blogpost, but I have no topic…or rather I do have a topic, but the topic is to have no topic…you’ll see, hopefully.

So for a few days I have banged around this idea in my head, as I often do without actually thinking on it – meaning when I have something I want to do, but am so so busy focusing on other things that I can’t really dedicate time to it, my subconscious or whatever you may want to call it, creative-corner of the mind may be, takes it on and does the job for me. I won’t go into that too much further and make this a very long(er!) blogpost, I’ll just say that half my creative projects are ‘focused’ through into being, and many others can take years to develop but do so without me actually spending any effort on it, it just comes out one day BOOM & I have a fabulous new idea, start to the very finish, all ready to go and laid out before me. I’m sure I’m not the only one that does this! But in reference to what I am writing about now what came fully formed into my head was not an idea per say (well I guess it was as it created this new series) but it was mainly a (false) perception I had gathered that held me apart from writing this blogpost in the first place.

To explain further I probably should say that I don’t often read blogs anymore, I unfortunately do not have the time, but when I do they are mostly in the personal development/spirituality area, and from this I have realised I have gained a false view of what blogging is to me. For instance the biggest part of this realisation is that most kinds of blogs only post when they have an ‘end product’ to share – ie for me that might be a new tutorial, or artist interview, or vlog, or something for my community Journal Workshops, and I have unwittingly adopted this style of blogging. And of course personal development/spirituality blogs are not the only category of blogs that do this, I’m not blaming any blog or areas of blogs for ‘putting’ this on me in anyway, as nearly EVERY blog does this, it really just comes down to the individual blogger within that field. But I’ve realised this is not what my value of blogging is, it is too much from a businessy kind of perspective, as even the most spiritual blogs I follow are often still doing it to drive sales, which is fine, but my version true of blogging is not just about the ‘end product’.

The next part of this realisation i.e what blogging does actually mean to me came into my head at the same time as the above, and that is that blogging is EXACTLY the same as what I repeat over and over in regards to art --- that it is the process, not the end result where the value often is found. So me disappearing from this blog, to create something, and then popping back up when I have a ‘proper finished product’ is really backwards, and against the essence of why I started blogging. Blogging to me is a log, it IS the process. And it is often the mess, the trials, the solutions and the efforts that happen during a project that provide the most value in being shared to another artist, not just the final offering. So here, for probably around a month to see how I get on with this, I am going to share weekly rambles of what I am currently creating (or focus on a certain aspect of it anyway) or perhaps what is currently on my creative mind, or the triumphs or tribulations that are happening in that moment and so on to find my blogging shoes again, my real ones, the ones that belong entirely to me & will only fit my feet exactly. My blogging glass slipper.

So I guess I'll see you next week =)

and apologies to anyone who missed TAT being posted this week, as I briefly said in this post I have been so so busy that Tuesday came and went without me even realising, the reasons for which may be the topic of the next weekly ramble...I dunno, as per the point we'll see when we get there =)